Longsword

The longsword is a melee weapon in RimWorld that does a large amount of damage, has a long cooldown, and deals sharp damage.

Acquisition

Longswords can be crafted at any smithy, once the Long Blades research has been completed, from 100 Stuff (Metallic/Woody)s (Metallic or Woody), and 18,000 ticks (5 mins) of work.

Longswords can be purchased from any outlander and orbital combat suppliers, or obtained from outlander and pirate raiders.

Analysis

The longsword has the highest base DPS out of any weapon in the game; having a 22.5% higher nominal DPS than the mace, which is the most powerful blunt weapon in the game. Plasteel longswords are extremely dangerous weapons, and can handily cut down opponents, thanks to their gladius-like cooldown and enhanced damage per hit.

The longsword's primary disadvantage is that it suffers against the extremely high sharp-armor values of Flak vests and Marine armor. Against enemies with these armor variants, a mace of equal quality is usually superior, particularly if made of Uranium; even a humble club can often do the job better than a longsword against these armors. However, a plasteel longsword will still outperform a uranium mace against opponents with Flak jackets, Flak pants, or Plate armor, and longswords still reign supreme against unarmored or lightly armored opponents.

As is the case with any sharp weapon, longsword attacks cause bleeding. However, this has little advantage for the player since melee engagements are usually over long before combat penalties due to blood loss can kick in. It could even be seen as a downside, as any potential Prisoners will be more difficult to save from bleeding out, especially if your doctors are busy healing your own colonists.

Weapons